It was Sportsmail's chief feature writer who wrote the moving inscription that decorates Bobby Moore's statue at Wembley, which reads: 'Favourite son of London's East End. Finest legend of West Ham. National treasure. Master of Wembley. Lord of the game. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman for all time.'

Record-breaker: David Beckham wins his 110th cap against Slovakia

So, with this in mind, Powell offered a bottle of champagne for whoever came up with the best way to describe the man who recently became England's most-capped outfield player, surpassing Moore's 108 caps.

Of the 130 reader comments that were fit to publish, a few launched a defence of the former Manchester United winger, but the winner of a bottle of champagne is David McLaren, of Gt. Dunmow, who submitted:

Favourite son of celebrity magazines. Finest legend of cant. Master of self-promotion. Captain of a swollen ego. Average player who took avarice to new heights.

Written before Beckham then won his 110th cap against Ukraine, the best of the rest, as selected by Powell, were:

Beckham's 109th cap? The greatest unsolved mystery of the modern world - I. Richardson, Bourne, Lincolnshire